You may be asking yourself “What possible connection could a nest, and egg and a yoke have to a homeschooling family outside of a science project?”.
Connections are important to us as human beings. Most babies crave to be touched to confirm a connection. We seek out friendships to make a connection with others sharing the journey. Connections help us feel like we fit in and are established.
There is one connection, and one connection alone, that will fill our needs. And that is through a relationship with the Lord. Each and every action we are part of either builds or destroys a piece of that connection. This is where the nest, egg and yoke fit in.
I looked up the definition of yoke. There were quite a few of them. While some did refer to being under oppression, most dealt with being bonded or joined together.
Pour some oil and some water into a jar. No matter how hard you try to mix them, they will separate. Even when you shake them up, they do not stay blended. Ultimately, they only touch at the point they are separated. They can both be in the same jar, yet not be joined.
The same is true for our relationships. The Bible says in
2 Corinthians 6:14 (KJV) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
When we are searching for deep and meaningful connections we need to be looking for relationships that bring us closer to God. Does this mean that those who are not Christian or those who are more casual Christians should be totally removed from our lives? Let’s look into this scripture further.
“for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
Fellowship implies a relationship of common interests. It would be difficult for a child to resist using drugs if he or she kept regular company with drug users. The same is true if we spend our time with non-believers or casual Christians. We tend to get comfortable with that form of a connection.
When we get comfortable with views or behaviors that keep us from growing spiritually, we can become “tolerant” and even “desensitized” towards these things. This thought pattern can destroy, even if it only appears to be slightly, our relationship with the Father and opens the door for more destruction.
How then are we to be a light in the world?
This verse also says “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers”. Unequally is what stands out to me. If your child spends one day a week with each of seven friends and one friend is a practicing Christian, but the other 6 are casual Christians or unbelievers with unsavory behaviors, which influence will be stronger?
Especially during formative years, be it a toddler, a teenager or a new believer who is 90 years old, we need to be sure our connections and relationships join us together with those of good practicing faith far more often then with unbelievers.
But there is one way to mix oil and water! That is with an emulsifier! If the water is dirty, you will make a nasty emulsion. But when the water is cleaned and the emulsifier is the Word of God, we blend together into a beautiful lotion.
When we add Christ, we have our preservative. As long as we keep our focus on Him, He keeps the lotion clean!!
Which lotion do you want to be part of?
To take this a step further lets introduce our nest. This nest is the home. It is a well built home in a mighty oak tree planted by living waters. The eggs represent each of us. And the yoke, our spiritual “heart”.
In nature, the yoke of an egg is where life begins. If the yoke is filled with that which is vile, our egg will not be able to develop as it should….if at all. You might then be able to say that if our heart is not properly yoked it could easily have a negative effect on our spiritual life.
One of our goals should be that our lives, our thoughts, our actions are all lined up with the Lord’s Will. Doing this nourishes our egg’s “yoke”.
This does not mean that we have to avoid all communication with unbelievers. It does not mean that we do not go out to lunch with an unbeliever.
We do need to make wise choices as to whom we let into our nest and influence our yokes. If we are constantly inviting rotten eggs (and their influential and rotten yokes) into our nest we are going to do ourselves more harm then good.
The same is true when we have an unbalanced proportion of water, oil, emulsifier and preservative. We end up with a mess. Too much of one or too little of another could leave you with nothing more then a glop of bacteria attracting menace.
It can be hard finding the right balance when going out into the world. This can be especially true when we are investing so much of our time and love towards unbelievers. We want for them to know the Lord we know and love and whom loves us so dearly.
The key might be for some to love them with the love of God.
This creates a healthy yoking without binding and blending in of the unsavory into our own yokes.
Seek God for the balance that He has planned for you in each and every connection or relationship you cross paths with. Following His Will provides us with the best blend every time!
|
